Physics Teachers, Postsecondary · SOC 25-1054

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Physics Teachers, Postsecondarys

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025U.S. metropolitan areas

Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for physics teachers, postsecondary. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked (2 such areas are excluded here). Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Top 25 of 63 metro areas

Physics Teachers, Postsecondary: metro areas with the highest published median annual wages, May 2025
#	Metro area	Median annual	Employment	Per 1,000 jobs
1	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$172,510	440	0.1
2	College Station-Bryan, TX	$167,090	80	0.6
3	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$152,190	120	0.1
4	Ann Arbor, MI	$141,400	80	0.4
5	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	$139,400	60	0.0
6	Lexington-Fayette, KY	$138,980	50	0.2
7	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$133,360	70	0.0
8	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$132,790	80	0.1
9	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	$130,310	160	0.1
10	Lincoln, NE	$128,750	50	0.2
11	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$128,640	510	0.2
12	Amherst Town-Northampton, MA	$114,880	60	0.9
13	Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY	$114,590	50	0.1
14	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$111,460	160	0.1
15	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC	$108,070	60	0.0
16	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	$107,410	170	0.1
17	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT	$107,080	100	0.2
18	Columbia, MO	$106,680	30	0.3
19	Oklahoma City, OK	$106,000	40	0.1
20	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA	$105,810	80	0.4
21	Raleigh-Cary, NC	$105,560	100	0.1
22	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	$104,880	110	0.1
23	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$104,690	870	0.1
24	Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI	$103,780	60	0.1
25	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	$103,750	290	0.1

Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Physics Teachers, Postsecondary overview.

About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.